How To Draw Grass With Pencil

How to draw Grass and Weeds

Tutorial by Diane Wright

role 1
part 2

How to draw Grass
part one

Introduction

Grass and weeds are some of the virtually challenging nature elements to capture in a landscape cartoon. It is seldom the focal point of a landscape, but if non rendered correctly, can negatively touch the rest of the scene. Grass is a supporting actor of the presentation. It should mirror the feeling of the scene, light and wispy for a foggy view, nighttime and dramatic with lots of texture for a thicker carpet. Grass is never stagnant, information technology is forever moving. This motility, menses and direction nosotros impose can guide the viewer to where we want to accept them, right into the depths of the scene.

A unproblematic pencil stroke

At the almost basic level, drawing grass is just a marking on the paper. Well perhaps two marks, one up and one down. Every bit you starting time the pencil stroke, the pressure is firm and as y'all move upwardly, the pressure is lifted so when you lift the pencil from the paper the line is tapered. As you make the mark on the down stroke, it starts with a heavier force per unit area and is tapered at the bottom. This vertical "rocking" motion of up/down pencil strokes is all it takes. Every bit you lot are creating these up/downwardly marks, you are actually drawing the area or shadow between the blades. The white area left is the bodily blades of grass. This technique is chosen negative drawing.
How to draw grass

Negative drawing - the pencil stroke is depicting the shadows or the area between the grass blades.

Practice

Practice cartoon diverse "textures" to depict grass. Hither are a few tips:

Vary the length of the grass. Unless the grass is from a manicured urban lawn, the grass will not be the same length. Varying the length will add interest.
A slight arch with the pencil stroke volition proceed the grass from looking stiff and unnatural.
Add a multifariousness of weeds including broad leaf plants. Again this volition add involvement to your scene.
Create lite, wispy grass with lighter pencil strokes.
For a thicker carpet of grass, utilise shorter, firmer pencil stroke.
For large sections of grass, use a 4H or 2H chisel point atomic number 82 and layer a light tone over the expanse. This will add uniformity.

How much detail?

So how much particular should be used when depicting grass? Well, that depends on what your landscape dictates. Grass in the far altitude is easy every bit it should be nothing more than a tonal value. Even around the tree in the foreground of "Honey Creek", the grass is piffling more than a texture.
'Honey Creek' by Diane Wright
Information technology isn't until yous become to the closest foreground area that you "might" exist able to distinguish individual blades of grass. By keeping this in perspective, it makes drawing grass then much easier equally it is now just another "texture" added to the mural.